Of Bad Luck and Presents
by Aozorain
Summary: Roxas looks for the perfect Christmas present for Naminé...until Fate steps in.  Written as a present for a friend but everybody else is very welcome to take a look as well! AU.


**A/N: Merry Christmas, everyone! And especially Pearline, since this story was written for her. (Bet you weren't expecting it!) I haven't read much NamiRoku and I certainly have never written about them before but I think it ended up alright in that respect. It's a bit childish and oh-so-wonderfully cliché but Christmas stories usually are, aren't they? :D**

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Essentially, in Roxas' opinion, Christmas was a good thing.

How could it not be? The time of the year when streets are full of light and people's hearts are full of goodwill... or at least that is the idea. People decorate their homes, eat delicious food, give presents to their loved ones...

...which brought him back to the ground, hard. The insuperable, unfathomable dilemma that had been plaguing him since the beginning of the month.

Whatever was he going to give to Naminé?

They had had a sort-of relationship for quite a long time now. Shy glances, holding hands, stolen kisses and a few warm hugs with whispered confessions. But nothing was really official yet and Roxas didn't go around calling her "his girlfriend" – it would have been like using something after only paying half the price.

"_She's not a thing, dammit,"_ he chided himself. _"She's so much more precious...but that's exactly what makes this so hard!" _He had scavenged several shopping malls in search of a good present, but his imagination seemed to have run dry.

"_Chocolate? No, that's way too boring, just like flowers... Clothes are a no-go. I have no idea what kind of music she likes, either..."_ For a while, he had considered getting her some nice piece of jewellery but he had to admit that all the good ones were double his budget and then some. He didn't want to get her any cheap trinket, either...

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"_What's wrong, Roxas? It's almost Christmas and you look like the end of the world is coming."_

"_I can't figure out what to give her for a present," Roxas said without thinking as his best friend Sora sat next to him in the school cafeteria. The other boy gave him an understanding look._

" 'Her'_, huh... Now I get why you're looking like that. It's Naminé, isn't it?"_

_Roxas opened his mouth to protest but he knew it was too late to deny anything. In any case, Sora might actually prove helpful._

"_So what are you going to give Kairi? You sound like you've got it all planned already."_

"_Thankfully yes, I do," Sora said enthusiastically. I'm going to take her to her favourite restaurant! It was a real pain to get the reservation done, though. Not many restaurants are open that day so I had to _fight_ to get a table. Not in the literal sense," he added._

"_Huh," Roxas commented, sipping his soda. Restaurant sounded like a good idea, but he wasn't sure if it was the thing he was looking for. He had no idea what kind of food Naminé liked. What if she was a vegetarian or had allergies? Whenever he saw her, he was so fixated on her beautiful face and more than graceful body to pay attention to what she put into her mouth._

_Maybe it was better not to think too much about that. It was probably next to impossible trying to get a reservation when there were only five days left until Christmas._

* * *

"_...And I never did manage to come up with anything decent. I'm running out of the damn time," _Roxas sighed. It was Christmas Eve and the shops would close in two hours.

That's when he saw it. The perfect gift he had been looking for.

He had ended up in a little boutique that sold tools for drawing and painting. There was a shelf selling something in a delicate, colourful cardboard package that said: OIL PASTEL CRAYONS - RAINBOW COLLECTION. Roxas didn't know much about art but he could tell that what he saw was called quality. He smiled to himself – how hadn't he thought of this earlier? Naminé loved drawing and, though she wasn't the type to toot her own horn, was apparently quite good at it. Kairi had once described her works as _magical_. Roxas would not find a better present even if he searched until the New Year's Day.

"_The price makes my wallet suffer but it's definitely worth it,"_ Roxas thought. He imagined the girl's delighted smile when she opened her present and then, she might even... Yes, definitely worth it. The shop assistant wrapped the package in dark blue paper and tied a silver ribbon around it. The result was positively breathtaking. Roxas decided against putting it in his bag, afraid of wrinkling the wrapping.

"_I guess I could take it to her right away. It _is_ Christmas Eve,"_ he contemplated. _"She said she'd be going to her parents' place tomorrow morning."_ That decided, he stepped into the cloudy yet crispy outdoor air. He walked the snowy streets, enjoying the quiet glow of Christmas lights in the distance and humming to himself. He stopped before a crossing and saw a car coming. It was not very fast, though, and the driver had noticed him. He decided to cross, knowing full well he would make it in time – if Fate didn't jump in.

Just after passing the halfway point of the road, his feet slipped and he fell painfully on his side. The car stopped abruptly next to him. Roxas got quickly up, ignoring his aching backside and wounded pride, and signaled the driver that he was okay. Just then, he heard a voice from the other side of the road.

"Roxas!"

Hearing Naminé's voice reminded Roxas about the present. The package had slipped from his hands as he fell and was currently occupying a very unbecoming location under the wheel of a certain car. It didn't take a rocket scientist to tell that the expensive first class crayons were beyond saving. Roxas felt like he was looking at the newest addition to the annual casualty record.

"Roxas! Roxas, are you alright?" Naminé was now right next to him, shaking his shoulder. She was wearing a white jacket with a skirt and moderate heeled boots to match. White really suited her.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just..." He looked at his short-lived present.

"Stupid, don't worry about something like that! You could've hurt yourself or worse!" He was startled by her tone. She was gripping his shoulder harder than he had imagined was possible for a feeble-looking girl like her. She spoke quickly and sharply, much louder than usual. Naminé saw the surprise in his eyes and changed immediately back to normal. Looking at her feet, she let go of Roxas' shoulder and said quietly:

"S-sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you. You just scared me, that's all."

"No, it's all my fault. I should've been more careful. Let's go," Roxas said, taking Naminé's hand firmly to his own. They walked back to the pavement and wordlessly agreed on taking a walk in the nearby park. It had started snowing and the city lights were reflected in each snowflake. The leafless trees had received a white coating. The park was a symphony of white, yellow and dark blue.

"So...what was there in that package, anyway?" Naminé asked after several minutes spent in silence. Roxas would have loved to avoid telling the truth but unfortunately he couldn't come up with anything convincing enough at such a short notice.

"It was a Christmas present. To you. I was coming to bring it but..." His voice trailed off. Naminé had stopped and looked at him both surprised and amused.

"Funny," she said. "I was just coming to bring you _your_ present! It's here," she dug her bag and took out a small item wrapped in deep red. "Merry Christmas, Roxas."

Roxas took the gift with wordless gratitude and opened it carefully, tearing the paper as little as possible. His eyes went wide and he looked at Naminé with his mouth hanging open. It was the newest album of his favourite band, Organisation XIII, and with autographs, no less! The album had been released just a week ago and Roxas hadn't bought it because he had been saving money for Christmas presents.

"How- how did you...?"

"Axel helped me," Naminé admitted, chuckling. "I bought the CD and he got it signed with the help of his connections." Roxas made a mental note to haunt his redhead friend until the end of time for never mentioning he had connections to "the Organisation," as fans called the band. At the moment, however, he was too satisfied with the whole universe to complain about anything.

"Naminé, I...this is awesome. Now I feel even more stupid, I don't have anything to give you in return," he smiled apologetically. The girl shook her head.

"It's not like I give presents just to get something for myself. I really have everything I need – if you are included, that is."

The two shared a kiss and Roxas decided that if tonight was anything to go by, Naminé deserved a _boatload_ of oil pastel crayons.

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**Hope you enjoyed, now please share your thoughts with me! By reviewing, you can spend about 1 minute of your life and make me happy for the rest of the day : ) I'd say it's a fair deal.**


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